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Bilawal revamp old demands

AFTER a gap of few months, PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has renewed four demands of the party and strangely enough sought cooperation of provincial government of Punjab to pursue them. The demands are passage of opposition’s bill seeking investigation into Panamagate issue, appointment of a full-fledged foreign minister, formation of a parliamentary committee on national security and implementation of resolution passed by a multi-party conference on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) held in May last year.
One fails to understand what the PPP wants to achieve by indulging in gimmicks that did not pay in the past. The campaign against government for acceptance of these four demands was launched in December last year but miserably failed, as it did not get masses endorsement. This is because PPP demands are either redundant or irrelevant to people of Pakistan. Panama Papers issue has been thoroughly looked into by the Supreme Court, which has completed hearing of the case and a judgement is expected any time. Masses want effective legislation and measures to check the menace of corruption in the country and there should be across the board investigation of corruption cases. It would not be fair to investigate and punish a few individual and allow all others to enjoy fruits of the wealth they amassed through corrupt practices. As for CPEC, it is proceeding ahead as per original plans and projects in infrastructure and energy sectors are under implementation in all the four provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan. As for other two demands, it would have been better if there was a full-fledged Foreign Minister and a Parliamentary Committee on National Security but Sartaj Aziz is doing well and we have an active and vibrant National Security Advisor. We believe that instead of finding fault with others, the PPP, which has its own government in Sindh should focus on service delivery to become a role model for people of Punjab and other provinces.